On Sat, 15 Mar 1997 22:37:10 -0500 (EST) Jon Page <jpage@capecod.net> writes: > I could see $100-200 >for just giving out a name as a professional courtesy. Well for some reason earning money this way never set well with me. I never like being asked for the fee and I never want to be given a fee, so at least I am consistent. When I send a customer to a dealer to look for a new piano, I call up the dealer and let them know I have referred them this person. The standing agreement is, don't try to steal this client away from me (by badmouthing independent technicians) and let me do the "free" tuning for you. This keeps my relationship with the dealer in high regard (some stories that a dealer can tell you about referral fees will really raise your ethical quandary) and if the customer does buy a piano it enhances my relationship with the new owner as well. All the while I remain a piano technician doing my job, for both customer and dealer, with a consistent focus of working on pianos. Perhaps the underlying assumptions about the taking of referral fees are what get my goat. For what am I getting paid? Do I think that my advice is for sale? If so then the wrong person is paying because I give my advice to the buyer. Or is it a service I am providing for the dealer for which I am justified in charging? These are some of the questions with which I am unclear. David Sanderson Littleton, MA Pianobiz@juno.com
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